College, Reinvented

Here are 15 ideas. Got some of your own? Let's hear them.

What If Students—Even Math Majors—Had to Write More?

Writing excels as both a way to assess learning and a means of deepening that learning.

What If Colleges Were Run by Co-Presidents?

The job is a time sink, and few individuals have all the skills that faculty, students, trustees, and donors demand.

What If We Got Rid of Grades?

College grades are inflated to the point of meaninglessness, especially to employers. An alternative is to recognize students' specific achievements.

What If Colleges Advertised the Cost of a Full Degree?

It's not just one year's price times four. Tuition and fees will probably go up. Aid levels will change. It's hard to know how much a student is likely to have to borrow.

What If Community Colleges Stopped Imitating 4-Year Colleges?

We can design two-year colleges to better serve the students they actually have.

What If the NCAA Put Students First?

In the billion-dollar enterprise of college sports, the focus on the best interests of students themselves has been lost.

What If College Counseling Went Beyond School Walls?

Just as learning is now a hybrid of face-to-face and virtual interactions, the transmission of college know-how is fast becoming a blended enterprise.

What If We Started School at Age 3, and Got Rid of 12th Grade?

The new and improved public-school system would begin with preschool and conclude with 11th grade.

What If Campuses Were Truly International?

If a college is serious about producing globally-minded graduates, it can create intellectual circulation among far-flung campuses.

What If Cross-Cultural Study Required No Passport?

There are alternatives to study abroad, alternatives that provide a similarly greater understanding of other cultures.

What If Tenure Didn't Require a Book?

Short-form e-books can be a respectable way to deliver serious scholarship.

What If Some For-Profits Became Low-Profits?

A new business model could make it easier for proprietary colleges to de-emphasize profits for the sake of their academic missions.

What If Departments Had to Pay for Space?

The reigning economic calculus helps to drive constant expansion and poor utilization of space on many campuses.

What If There Were a Kickstarter for Science?

On a small scale, new Web sites are already applying the "crowd funding" principle in support of scientific research.

What If There Were 2 Tracks for the Faculty?

Let most faculty members skip the Ph.D. and the tenure track, and concentrate on teaching.

What if Higher Ed Had a Designated Tax?

Higher education pays off handsomely for society. Why not charge society the equivalent of a gas tax for the benefits received?

Next: The Worrying Rise of Double Majors

They’re especially popular at elite colleges. Are students hedging their bets and working harder, asks Jeff Selingo, or have major requirements become too easy?

Head Count: The 4-Letter Word That Everybody’s Talking About

At the annual meeting of NACAC, admissions officers and college counselors spoke of applicants’ “grit.”

On U. of Texas' Flagship Campus, Soul-Searching Over Diversity

The case is echoing across the University of Texas's flagship, and for some students, it's personal.

Year-Old Code of Conduct Makes Slow Progress Among For-Profit Colleges

Not one additional college company has joined the group pledging to uphold the code, and a promised student-protection Web site has yet to be created.

Hot Type: Art Publishers Look to Yale Press for Glimpse of Digital Future

Image-heavy works can be tough to publish as e-books. But with the help of a grant, the press is looking for solutions.

Players: Governing Boards Are Urged to Sharpen Their Oversight of Sports

More than half of Division I colleges do not have comprehensive policies spelling out their boards’ role in athletics, a new report estimates.

Genetics Research May Slow Without Privacy Protections, Federal Panel Warns

The panel called for consistent federal and state policies on privacy and ethical issues that arise as full-genome sequencing becomes more widely used.

Advocate of Western Civilization Finds a Home for His Ideas at Texas Tech

Stephen H. Balch, a longtime leader at the National Association of Scholars, has found a university where he can apply what he believes.

Why I Resigned the Paterno Chair

It was the Paterno Family Professorship in Literature. That's all you need to know, right? No. In fact, much of what you think you know is wrong.

The New Class Divide

The knowledge and skills spurred by economic development have made us smarter. But they've also increased America's inequality.

Reading in Place

Once, readers came to books. Now books come to readers, on whatever screen is available.

Why George Lucas Is the Greatest Artist of Our Time

No one has closed the gap between art and technology more successfully, nor created worlds that have so deeply permeated the dream lives of millions.

Why I Still Teach 'Portrait of a Lady'

Its length, philosophical rigor, and endless semicolons can be a turnoff. Then again, the book might just change your life.

To Each, His Abraham

A Harvard professor argues why it's important to acknowledge differences in faiths.

Narrative TV vs. the Novel

My Husband the Vampire

Commentary: Setting a Realistic Standard of Proof in Sexual-Misconduct Cases

The position confirmed by the Education Department protects colleges and is equally fair to men and women.

It's Your Duty to Be Miserable!

How productive have I been this day? How can I write more tomorrow? Will anyone hire me? Do I deserve to be in academe at all?